Two attackers, one hostage killed in France church attack

Police say at least one hostage and two hostage takers were killed after an incident in northern France. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

▲ Hide Transcript

▶ View Transcript

NATURAL ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)
French police "neutralised" two men armed with blades who had taken several people hostage in a church in northern France on Tuesday, the police said.
A police source said that one of the hostages had been killed with a blade in the attack which took place in the Normandy town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, south of Rouen. French media reported the attackers cut the throat of the priest.
French President Francois Hollande was on his way to the site of the attack.
It was not immediately clear if the assailants were killed or taken alive in the police operation that ended the assault.
Live TV images showed police had blocked off the roads around the church and paramedics were seen pulling stretchers out of ambulances.
The hostages included a priest, two nuns and two worshippers according to BFM TV.
The attack is the latest in a string of deadly assaults in Europe. In France, the Normandy attack comes 12 days after a 31-year-old Tunisian killed 84 people in the French Riviera city of Nice when he ploughed his heavy goods truck into a crowd of revellers. Islamic State claimed the attack in Nice.

French President Emmanuel Macron heads into the summer break faced with falling popularity ratings after tough debates in parliament over labour reform and a public ethics law, a standoff with the military and cuts to housing assistance

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: